Behind Closed Doors (17 page)

Nathan thought he recognized him. Earl’s son. The kid used to work at his dad’s filling station after school. Hard to forget the mop of red hair.

“Have you got a minute?” the shorter one asked Beth, his hands jammed in his jeans’ pockets, his shoulders hunched.

“Sure.” She studied the guy’s somber face. “I’m not going to like this, am I?”

“Probably not.”

Nathan had to give her credit. She stayed calm.

“I assume this is a show-and-tell,” she said, and got a grim nod. “Let’s go.” She headed toward the door, then paused to look at Nathan. “Joe, do you know...”

“Hi, Mr. Landers.” Joe moved back to give them room. The other kid had disappeared already. “You probably don’t remember me. My parents are Preston and Betty.”

“Right.” The resemblance was there. Joe favored Preston. “Give your dad my best, will you?”

“I’ll do that.” Joe stepped farther back to let Beth walk ahead of him, but she motioned for him to go first.

She glanced at Nathan before trailing after Joe. If she’d meant to send him a message, Nathan didn’t get it. He followed her, trying to decide if he should wait in her office or take off. He’d asked Woody to call him before someone brought Liberty to town, so he wasn’t worried about her showing up unexpectedly. But he was uneasy about what might happen after the work crew cleared out.

He couldn’t trust himself to keep his hands off Beth.

The whole idea was ridiculous. It was a simple matter of willpower, which normally wasn’t a problem for him. If he set his mind on something, it was as good as done. But when it came to Beth, hell, she made everything go haywire. No matter what he did, he thought about her. He couldn’t remember ever being this foolish over a woman.

With Anne it had been different. He’d set his sights on her, incorporated her into his life plan, endured a brief snag while he was away at school and then everything had fallen into place on schedule. Anne hadn’t been the type to surprise him. At least, not while she’d been alive.

Beth had him so confused, half the time he couldn’t tell if he was coming or going.

Like now.

Nathan followed her all the way to the other end of the hall instead of deciding if it was safe to stay.

He hung back, just outside the doorway, eavesdropping while Joe and the redheaded kid explained how the ladder had busted and why there was a hole in the new drywall. It took every bit of his sorry willpower not to jump in and take over for her. These kids might mean well, they might even be hard workers, but they didn’t know what the hell they were doing. Beth was clearly in over her head.

She was great, though. She kept her cool, didn’t raise her voice, didn’t even reprimand them for being careless. He wouldn’t have been so understanding with his own men given the same circumstances.

Earl’s boy seemed anxious to leave. Not surprising, since his clumsiness had turned out to be the main problem. He gave Nathan a brief, sheepish look as he hurried past him. Next came Joe, who looked depressed.

He gave Nathan a wry smile. “Nice seeing you, Mr. Landers.”

Nathan just nodded and watched him shuffle out. Joe had to be at least twenty-one by now, old enough not to be calling him Mr. Landers, but this wasn’t the time to mention it.

“Get over it,” Beth said with a sigh.

Nathan turned to find her watching him. “Get over what?”

“Joe calling you Mr. Landers. Half these guys call me ma’am.” Squeezing her eyes shut, she rubbed her left temple. “It’s just plain disrespectful.” She looked at him again. “Ma’am? Please. I’m only twenty-nine.”

He smiled. “Don’t buy another ladder. I’ll bring one tomorrow.”

“Thanks, but that’s all right. I don’t need them breaking your things, too.” She shrugged. “It’s the cost of doing business, as they say.”

That cost would soar if she continued to hire amateurs. His cell rang. Woody. Good timing. Nathan didn’t need to interfere with Beth’s business. He’d known she’d made an emotional decision to renovate the boardinghouse, and that was just one of the things that worried him about her.

Or it would be if this thing between them amounted to anything more than sex.

Speaking of sex...

“You think you might be able to come by the ranch later?”

The disappointment in her face told him straight away that she couldn’t. It all boiled down to her being too busy, but he cursed their luck and cursed the fact that she’d awakened the beast inside him. Being numb had been so much easier.

13

“
W
HERE ARE YOU?
” Nathan asked when Beth answered her cell.

The sound of his voice made her smile. It had been a whole week since they’d spent more than five minutes together. “I just got home,” she said, pulling the truck to a stop near the back door. The lights were on inside but her sister’s beat-up old Mustang was already gone. No surprise there.

“Damn. I was hoping to catch you before you left town.”

“Why?” She cut the engine and leaned back against the headrest. “What did you have in mind, cowboy?”

“Meet me at the old line shack and I’ll show you.”

Beth laughed. “I wish I could,” she said, sighing. “I really do.” She may not have been with him, but at least they’d started daily phone calls four nights ago.

“I take it Candace isn’t there.”

“Nope.
Claims
she had to go to work.”

“Obviously you don’t believe her.”

“She’s been acting weird. Well, weirder than usual.” Beth didn’t get it. Candace was never secretive about the men she was seeing, and in fact, tended to brag. Not this time, though. Probably because her man du jour wasn’t the same one paying her rent.

“Have you thought any more about this weekend?”

“Are you kidding? It’s the only thing that’s kept me sane. I told Candace that I’d be away on a shopping trip and she has to stay with Liberty.”

“So we’re on?”

“Yes, we are.” Beth didn’t mention her threat to throw out her sister’s supply of false eyelashes if she pulled a fast one. Candace might duck out for a few hours, but she wouldn’t be gone all night. “We can leave Friday afternoon if you’re free.”

“What about Liberty? Will she still be working on her art project?”

“She should be done...oh, right.” Beth hadn’t thought it through. Lib hadn’t been to the ranch in two days because of schoolwork, but she’d expect to go there on Saturday. “I don’t want her to know we’re both out of town.”

“I agree. I’ll have Woody tell her he’s busy this weekend.”

“Thanks. For thinking of it.” Beth knew it was a mistake to consider Nathan an ally, someone willing to share her burdens. They’d become friends, loosely speaking, but it would be foolish to romanticize his motives.

“You sound beat,” he said, his voice a low, soothing murmur that managed to make her feel warm and safe.

“I am. Friday can’t come too soon.”

“You sure you can’t sneak away for a few minutes?”

She laughed. “Only a few, huh?”

“I give a mean back rub.”

Beth bit her lip. She knew he meant it. All she had to do was give the word and he’d show up to give her that massage and expect nothing in return. So, okay, he had become a friend. “Lib must’ve seen me out here, or I’d be tempted...”

“Yeah, I know. It’s hard. Maybe I’ll stop by the boardinghouse tomorrow.”

“Stop by?”

“Yeah...on my way to the Food Mart.”

They both laughed.

“Oh, God.” Beth saw the front door open. “Here comes search and rescue.”

Nathan chuckled. “Go.”

She almost told him she missed him, but that seemed over-the-top so she disconnected instead. For a relationship that was supposed to be based on sex, they sure weren’t having much of it.

* * *

L
ATE
F
RIDAY,
B
ETH
peered through the parlor window, watching Joe and the new guy walk to their trucks. The plumber had already left, so she locked the front door. Old habit. She doubted anyone would break in and continue with the renovation.

She hurried back to her office and checked her phone. No message from Candace, no missed calls. Good.

Most of the day she’d been too busy to feel anxious. She’d even managed to make it through large blocks of time without remembering she was meeting Nathan at 6:00 p.m. But for the past hour she’d been nervous, her stomach jittery.

A packed bag was locked in her truck. All she had to do was drive thirty miles east of town to where Nathan would be waiting. He had a place for her to leave her truck, an enclosed shed, which was perfect, but he hadn’t mentioned who owned it.

She’d bet anything it belonged to his family over in the next county. If that were the case, wouldn’t it be just peachy if his father or his brothers happened on them skulking around?

See, that was the problem right there, she thought as she let herself out the back and climbed into her truck. Two weeks ago the sneaking around had been somewhat nerve-racking yet exciting. Now it bothered her.

Especially after Marge’s visit this afternoon. The diner owner had kindly brought coffee and a couple of donuts, and they’d talked about the construction for a few minutes. It was all very neighborly until Marge had casually mentioned that she’d heard Nathan had been quite...amenable to fixing the lumber situation. The innuendo was clear, and so was the fact that gossip about them had already begun.

She’d been tempted to press Marge for more details, but had managed to roll her eyes and dismiss the whole subject with a remark about people having too much time on their hands.

The question now was, did she mention the incident to Nathan?

Since he didn’t seem so touchy lately about people gossiping and she hadn’t heard anything from anyone else, including Rachel, who’d stopped by shortly after Marge left, Beth figured she’d keep it to herself for the time being. After reassuring Rachel that the renovations would be done in time for her wedding, Beth had kind of hinted around to see if Rachel had heard anything, but it had been clear she hadn’t.

The sun was low, no longer visible but for the orange glow over the Rockies behind her. She hadn’t seen another car for the past twenty miles. Any duskier and she might’ve missed the turn. Her heart kicked into high gear as soon as she saw his green Range Rover parked next to a building she wouldn’t have described as a shed. It was as big as a house.

He’d already lifted the garage-style door and motioned for her to drive straight in. Three four-wheelers were parked in the corner, and behind them a large tractor. Other smaller pieces of equipment were stowed neatly along the left wall, but there was still plenty of room for her truck.

She didn’t want to block anything and drove in slowly until he signaled for her to stop. After cutting the engine she took a deep breath, anticipation filling her with adrenaline.

Nathan opened her door. “You’re right on time.”

“No thanks to my motley crew.”

Almost before she found her footing, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. His warm lips gently moved over hers, then brushed the outside corner of her mouth before he slipped inside. Just one slow stroke of his tongue and already she could feel it, the yearning that thrummed through her body, the physical longing, the desperate need for his touch.

She leaned into him, tunneled her fingers through his hair, pressed so close she felt him getting hard, but he wouldn’t be rushed. He skimmed a slow hand down her back, used his tongue to make another unhurried sweep of her mouth, keeping to the leisurely pace that felt very intimate, erotic.

She had no defense against this kind of kiss. It made her think too much. Not now, but later, during the alone times in the middle of the night, in her empty bed. If she wasn’t careful, she’d start longing for things that weren’t part of their unspoken deal.

With a pang of regret, Beth broke the kiss and stepped back. She really wanted to get on the road, drive as far away from town as possible. See if she could shake the edginess.

His eyes were dark, his faint smile full of promise. Oh, yes, he would be doing many delightful things to her in the next two days.

Already she felt better. “We should go. I couldn’t stand it if anything ruined this trip.”

His gaze narrowed. “Something I should know about?”

“No. Nothing,” she said, worrying that it might be a lie. “I’m paranoid, remember?”

The smile was back, and he truly was very handsome. Even with the occasional hint of sadness in his face. But she couldn’t think about that because it meant thinking about his late wife as well, and wondering if he’d ever get over Anne.

“Where’s your bag?” he asked.

“On the floorboard. Other side.” She sucked in a breath when he grazed her beaded left nipple. “I’ll get it.”

He closed his hand around her upper arm. Just tight enough to send a shiver down to her toes. “Let me.”

She nodded, barely capable of doing anything more than walking alongside him. “What is this place?” she asked. “Who owns it?”

“My family. This is Whispering Pines land.”

“They won’t tow my truck, will they?”

He smiled. “They don’t use the shed much this time of year. But I let my brother Clint know we were leaving your truck here.”

She would’ve loved eavesdropping on that conversation, though she doubted he’d told his family about her. Why would he? He got her bag, then gestured her toward his SUV.

“Shouldn’t we close up?”

“I will. Let’s get you in the Range Rover first. You’ll be warmer.”

“Oh, I can—” She stopped herself. It was habit to jump in, not just to help, but to take over. She was always the person doing something for someone else...Candace, Liberty and, until a few months ago, her boss and clients. It wouldn’t hurt to let Nathan take the reins. “Thank you.”

With faint amusement, he walked her to the SUV, stashed her bag in the back and helped her into the brown leather seat, which was heated. Oh, my. Yes, she could get used to this.

A few minutes later they were on the highway headed south. “I don’t even know where we’re going,” she said, startled that she hadn’t thought to ask before now.